In this guide, we will discuss how to troubleshoot your Bromcom MIS when Emails fail to send and how to rectify some of the common causes.
This guide can be used by IT Departments, MIS Managers and Administrators to troubleshoot Emails failing at a technical level.
Access: The minimum permissions you need to access the mentioned areas are listed at the start of each numbered section further down.
How Emails work in Bromcom
- In Config>Setup>System Settings, Schools have the option to use Bromcom’s SMTP Service or their own SMTP Server.
- Emails are processed by our system and delivered to the chosen SMTP server.
- If there are any problems, only the Server hosts can troubleshoot this as the Emails have left our system and been delivered to the chosen SMTP servers that those mailboxes/mail addresses are hosted.
- If for any reason your own SMTP server is not delivering Emails, we do not receive any delivery reports and cannot provide an answer as to why. If the Bromcom server is not delivering Emails, we can investigate.
See also: How to manage SMTP Settings
Troubleshooting failed Emails
There are a few common reasons as to why sending Emails may have failed within the MIS. Below is a list which can be used to ensure everything is configured correctly/to work out the cause by process of elimination;
- No School Email added in Config>Communication>Configurations
- Contacts/Students not having an Email Address on their Records
- SMTP Settings incorrect or SMTP Test failing
- Emails are sending from a different Email Address
- Error messages/no Delivered notification when sending Emails
- Push Notifications being received by Contacts instead of Emails
- Sending too many Emails at once
- Emails showing as delivered on Communication Overview but the Contact has not received the Email
1- No School Email added in Config>Communication>Configurations
Access: The minimum permissions required to access the section below are found in the Communication Module of Config>Setup>Roles & Permissions.
If you go to Config>Communication>Configurations, there is a School Email field which is blank by default.
This MUST be populated with a valid Email Address in order to send Emails from your system.
Resolution – Ensure that the School Email you wish to send Emails from is populated here.
2 – Contacts/Students not having an Email Address on their records
Access: The minimum permissions required to access the section below are found in the Framework Module of Config>Setup>Roles & Permissions.
Go to Students List page>Actions>Send SMS/Email.
Once you have an Email which is ready to send, press Recipients instead of Send.
This will show you the Destination Email for each Contact/Student that is receiving the Email. If this is missing, Emails will not send.
Resolution – Ensure all Contacts/Students have an Email Address added to their Records which will populate the Destination.
3 – SMTP Settings incorrect or SMTP Test failing
Access: The minimum permissions required to access the section below are found in the Setup Module of Config>Setup>Roles & Permissions.
Go to Config>Setup>System Settings, this page will provide you with two options;
Your own SMTP Server or Bromcom SMTP Server.
If you use the Bromcom SMTP Service and Emails fail, contact the Helpdesk because there will be checks that we can carry out.
However, if you use your own SMTP Server and Emails fail, carry out an SMTP test by entering your Email Address in the Test Email Address field. If the test fails, you will need to troubleshot internally.
Your IT department should know all of the required SMTP details/settings, and is this is controlled internally this is not something we can assist with or troubleshoot.
Resolution – Ensure all of the SMTP details/settings are correct and perform an SMTP test to ensure Emails are being sent from the system.
4 – Emails are sending from a different Email Address
Access: The minimum permissions required to access the section below are found in the Setup Module of Config>Setup>Roles & Permissions.
This is a common query that Schools have when they wish to send Emails from a specific or different address.
In order to change the Email Address that Contacts/Students will receive from, you would need to go to Config>Setup>System Settings.
If for example, you want to change the Email here from School ID@bromcom.com to Reception@schoolname.com, you would need to enter the desired Email Address in the From Email Address field.
Resolution – Ensure the Email Address you want recipients to see is entered in the From Email Address field when you use Your Own SMTP Server.
Note: You cannot change this if you use the Bromcom SMTP Service and will need to contact the Bromcom Helpdesk in order to request that this is changed.
5 – Error messages/no Delivered notification when sending Emails
Access: The minimum permissions required to access the section below are found in the Setup Module of Config>Setup>Roles & Permissions.
When sending an Email/Emails, you should be notified how many are expected to send and notified of how many are successfully sent.
If this is not the case and you receive no notification of Emails being sent, please go to Config>Setup>System Logs.
From here, change the category to Error Logs and look for any errors around the time you last tried sending an Email.
Any Error messages here may assist you with troubleshooting the cause and are helpful to include when raising a case with the Helpdesk.
Resolution – If you are unsure if an Email has sent or feel something has not worked, check the Error logs for any Email related error messages.
6 – Push Notifications being received by Contacts instead of Emails
Access: The minimum permissions required to access the section below are found in the Framework Module of Config>Setup>Roles & Permissions.
This is a common situation for Schools that have set up MCAS and have many Contacts that use it.
When sending an Email from the Students List page, there is a crucial tick box that you must be aware of – Send push notifications for mobile app users.
This setting determines how the Contact will receive the communication you are sending if they use MCAS.
The system identifies if the Contact has the MCAS App installed on their phone and has Push Notifications enabled.
If they do, the Contact receives a Push Notification on MCAS rather than an Email.
Resolution – Manually untick this option to ensure Contacts only receive an Email and always press Recipients when sending to multiple Contacts. This will show you if any Push Notifications will be sent instead of Emails.
7 – Sending too many Emails at once
Access: The minimum permissions required to access the section below are found in the Framework Module of Config>Setup>Roles & Permissions. Scheduled Reports does not have a permission and Tasks is found within Send/SMS Email so has no standalone permission.
This is a problem that large Schools are likely to face when they have hundreds or thousands of Contacts to send Emails to.
Sending an Email to this amount of Contacts may fail for a couple of reasons.
This process will take a long time and depending on when it begins, there is a chance that it can be interrupted by an existing Scheduled Report or Scheduled Email sending out.
If you use your own SMTP Server, you must also consider that often there is a usage limit/cap set by the Server provider. They may allow up to 150 Emails at once, but any more can be blocked for security/spam.
Resolution – Double check that no Reports or Emails are Scheduled to send out within Tasks and Scheduled Reports before you send bulk Emails. If the Emails show as delivered and Parents have not received them, contact your Server provider as they have likely stopped them all sending for security reasons.
8 – Emails showing as delivered on Communication Overview but the Contact has not received the Email
Access: The minimum permissions required to access the section below are found in the Communication Module of Config>Setup>Roles & Permissions.
If you go to Modules>Communication>Overview, this page will show you how many Emails have been sent Today and this Week.
This page will also show a status next to the Email of either Delivered, Sent or Failed.
The way Emails work on the MIS is that they are generated and sent from your system using the Communication/SMTP settings configured previously.
The Email then reaches the server (Your Own or Bromcom’s) and from that point it is down to the Server to deliver the Email to the destinations.
Delivered – This means the Email has been sent to the Server from Bromcom and the Server has delivered it to the destinations.
Sent – This means that the Email has been sent to the Server but potentially hasn’t progressed further.
Failed – This means the Email has not reached the Server and indicates an issue within the MIS, likely with your SMTP settings or From Email.
Resolution – Ensure all settings and the From Email is correct in the MIS. Contact your server provider if Emails are marked as Delivered but Contacts have not received them, check the Error Logs and correct your settings if Emails are marked as Failed.
